The Llano News (Llano, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 11, 1988 Page: 4 of 20
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COWPOKES
By Ace Reid
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Llano News, Thursday, February 11,1988
Page A-
Letters to the Editor
P
Concerned
From the Sidelines
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By Fred Taylor
Dear Editor:
Gourds-Are you in or out?
Dear Editor:
11
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The LLANOHNEWS
WALTER L. BUCKNER, Editor and Publaher
T.H. CUNNINGHAM, Publlaher Emeritus
Help needed
Dear Editor:
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FRED TAYLOR..........
SARAH BUCKNER......
ANN MILLER...........
HAZEL LONG...........
A.C. KINCHELOE.......
BARBARA BURFORD....
LYNDA PIERSON.......
BRIDGET SMALLWOOD.
groundhog started. February 2 is
also Candlemas, which has been a
religious festival since time im-
memorial.
Be that as it may, The Wanderer,
who has never been a great admirer
of cold weather, is ready to accept
the philosophy of the people of Pun-
xsutawney and rejoice over the fact
that spring just may be at hand. And
as far as he’s concerned, it can start
any time now.
George Mayben, board vice presi-
dent, presided at that meeting of the
board. .
Full support
Hospitality
Dear Editor:
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SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Unmo Coumty 1 year $11.65, 2 yeara $22.40,
3 years $32.50. Elsewher to Texnes 1 year $19.50, 2 yeers 838.00.
Out-of-statet 1 year. $34, 2 years 868. Al payable to advamce.
Overbeas - cal ar write tor quote.
POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGE TO LLANO NEWS, BOX
187, LLANO, TEXAS 78643.
Barbara Houston
Llano
NEWS CORRESPONDENTS: Rath Dato, Ealtoe Kowlerachke, Lettie
Wyckoff, Jamie Patos, Foyce Slaughter and Jamet Herrom.
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Mil
It has come to our attention that a
Llano family is in need of help in
providing hospital care for their
premature infant.
In these days of large medical
expenses and the failure of most
insurance companies to provide
coverage for newborns, it is actually
surprising that it doesn’t happen
more often.
It is our desire to ask the good
people of Llano to join us in raising
money for Baby McIntosh.
Come, be entertained, maybe win a
little and raise a lot of money for the
care of one of "our little ones” at the
Friday night night games.
American Legion Auxiliary
Chaplain Beth Cuthbertson
..............News Editor
..........Life Style Editor
.........Editor’s Asaletant
rtogal—il Oridrli Editor
• • Pitottog Dept. Supervisor
Typesetter and Beekkeeper
.........Advertiaig Sales
......Productlon Asalatant
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the surrounding area. This was first
year to deer hunt in Llano and I
really enjoyed the hospitality exten-
ded to me.
If possible, I would like any
information you may have on deer
leases in the area, as I have some
friends who I have told about Llano
and they are interested in hunting
there and I don’t have any lease
information or an opening on my
lease.
Enclosed is $1 to help pay for
postage.
I'm looking forward to the 1988
spring turkey season and deer
season, and the hospitality of your
city.
Thank you for your help.
J.P. Collard
Take the folks up th Punxsutawney.
Pennsylvania for instance. Punxsu-
tawney is the self-styled groundhog
capital of the world, and up there
Groundhog Day is practically a
religious holiday. They are said to
have a special official groundhog
called Punxsutawney Phil that lives
in quarters provided for him in the
town library. Punxsutawney Phil is
anything but undernourished and
looks very much like a ladies’ fur
muff with a couple of beady eyes.
Early in the morning on February 2,
Groundhog Day, the natives take
Punxsutawney Phil out of his warm
winter quarters and install him in a
specially prepared burrow on the
outskirts of town, and then the entire
town makes a pilgrimage out to the
burrow tp see if Phil is going to see
his shadow, dive back into his hole,
and pull the hole in after him. If he
Servimg Llame, Llame Cewmty amd the Highland Lakes area
mimee IBM.
From time to time, there comes
something through the mail that
brings back memories of sayings in
the past and you just can't help but
smile a bit. uch was the case
recently when the American Gourd
Society sent us a packet of informa-
tion all the way from Mount Gilead,
Ohio.
Well, I haven't heard the expres-
sion for a long time, but the first
thing that I remember in opening the
packet was the expression that used
to.be said quite a bit when you
thought a person just Wasn't quite up
to snuf — "You gotta be out of your
gourd!”
Whoever came up with that expres-
sion is completely unknown to me
until I looked a little further at some
of the information from this group in
Ohio. Naturally, it was a pitch to join
the society and just think, a new
member could join for $3 for one
year or if he had the courage to stay
in the society for two years, he could
fork over $5.50.
Well, what would you get if you
decided you wanted to join those
other gourd advocates up in Ohio?
How about this. First a membership
card and, hold on to your gourds
now, something named "So your
Gourds Rotted: Or Did They?” That
really fractured me and right off the
bat I could see why it would be good
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Publlshed weekly at 813 Barry Street, Hano, Texas 78643. Entered to
the Llano Post Office as ascend ctoss, postage paid at Hano, Texas,
under the Act of Congress sf 1878. USPS 316-700
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Editorial/Opinion
"The vital measure of a newspaper is not its size ■
but its spirit" . . . Arthur Hays Sulzberger
(a)
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Very concerned
Dear Editor:
I am very concerned that a few
disgruntled, yet obviously influen-
tial, football fans could put enough
pressure on our public school
superintendent to make him ask for
Coach Spivey’s resignation after the
overwhelming show of support by
the parents and students at sthe
December school board meeting.
If there is some flaw in Coach
Spivey’s character that makes him
an undesirable educator, then it is
the school board’s responsibility to
replace him, but if all this controver-
sy is just over losing football games,
then they should be ashamed to bow
to such pressure.
It was obvious to Spivey’s suppor-
ters at the December meeting that
the president of the school board
resented our presence and made it as
difficult as possible for anyone to
speak or to be heard.
I hope the voters of this commun-
ity will remember which school
board members stood up for the
principles we would like to have
instilled in our children and which
ones bowed to the continuing quest
for football "bragging rights.”
Thank you for letting me express
my opinion.
7
Thank you so much for the
coverage of the coaching situation in
Llano. We fully support Coach
Spivey and his staff, not only for
their coaching abilities, but for their
skills in the classroom. Winning is
certainly nice, but there are so many
other things that are more important
to our children’s education. We want
our children to learn life skills such
as persistence in the face of
adversity, resistance to peer pres-
sue, staying with your morals,
expressing humor in a positive way,
and being able to lose gracefully and
with dignity. It’s important that our
children learn that their worth is not
contingent on their own or their
team’s athletic ability. Their worth is
no more nor less than any other
person on this earth, whether they
win, lose or draw.
It is possible that Llano can
establish a good reputation through-
out the state, but not for having a
winning football team. Llano can
become known for being a city of
brotherly love, kindness, compassion
and consideration for all.
“Wul, I’ve heard dogs are mans best friend.
If that’s so we’re about outta pals!”
The Texas economic future is beginning to
look bright again if several indicators ring true.
Despite the recent downturn, the state’s
economy has grown and diversified in the past
few years and the foundation for growth is
stronger than ever before_according to Bob
Bullock, state Comptroller.
"The signs of recovery are solid and
widespread,” Bullock said in a report to Texas
newspapers. "All of Texas’ major industries
have bottomed out end are growing."
The recovery is being led by e rebound in the
state’s manufacturing industry. Manufac-
turing employment is up 3.6 perceht over a
year ago. Bullock predicted that the state’s
jobless rate will fall to near 6.5 percent by 1989-
a drastic improvement over the 10 percent plus
rates of 1986.
H. Ross Perot, the billionaire who built his
fortune in oil, gas real estate and computers,
told a group at the Mid-Winter Texas Press
meeting in Dallas recently that the Texas
If you’re disgusted with cold
weather and just about to give up
and move to the equator, be of good
cheer. There’s one ray of hope in this
wilderness of gloom and cold. The
groundhog did not see his shadow
Tuesday, Groundhog Day. That,
according to tradition, portends the
coming of spring. Some of the
younger and smarter generation may
decry the groundhog tradition as an
old wives’ tale, but there are
old-timers who would as soon plant
their 'taters in the light of the moon
as ignore the groundhog.
shellac, paint, carving or wood
burning or apything you like. In any
event, it is supposed to beautify your
room.
Perhaps that is how the saying got
started. A friend visits and sees a lot
of different colored gourds hanging
all around the house. In wonder-
ment, he just had to ask, "Are you
out of your gourd?”
My apologies to all gourd lovers.
There is more in the publication
about Gourd Dolls, Gourd Slides,
and Gourd Stationery and even how
to judge gourds.
The list goes on and on. There are
insructions on how to hand-polinate
gourds; make bird houses from
gourds and a couple of others I never
heard of such as "Lagenarieas How
Do!” and another bulletin on the
"Luffa Gourd.” Now that either has
to be a happy gourd or one that tells
jokes.
Last, but not least, is a copy of one
of the bulletins in which people list
what they have for sale. This is from
seeds all the way to the finished
product. One person even makes
musical instruments out of gourds.
Hopefully I haven’t offended any
gourd enthusiasts and without any
further ado, I will admit to being out
of my gourd. Never did want to get in
one to begin with.
does, they all go home and batten
down the hatches for another six
weeks of winter. If it’s overcast all
day, and Phil casts no shadow, there
is universal rejoicing, because ev-
eryone knows that winter is over and
spring is at hand. By the time
February 2 comes around, we
suspect that the natives of Punxsu-
tawney, Pennsylvania, are thor-
oughly sick of winter and would
accept almost any excuse to believe
that warmer weather is at hand. The
Wanderer has never been to Pun-
xsutawney, but Pennsylvania is not
exactly in the torrid zone.
Ei,
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AHGSN
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ByHalCunningh
Recent events in Llano affecting
the wll-being of my children have
me greatly concerned.
I think some people in the Llano
area and some who don't even live in
Llano County have forgotten the
reason our schools are in operation.
Of course. I'm referring the
“Coach Spivy Issue.** What does
Coach Spivy and his staff have to do
with the well-being of my children?
In my opinion, they are very involved
with the upbringing of my children
and all those who are in the school’s
athletic pBgram. My daughter is in
the eighth grade and spends a great
amount of time each week in the
company of Coach Daugherty and
Coach Dale. My son is in high school
athletics and spends a great deal of
time with the coaches. He has been
in two of the coaches' academic
classes, and has learned and enjoyed
learning with their help. Most of his
exposure to the coaches has been in
athletics. He has not been subjected
to cursing fits of anger or other
un-Christian behavior so common in
today's population, as a vhole. This,
to me, is a very important thing.
The following may be an unpopu-
lar viewpoint, but I’m entitled to my
beliefs. Namely - I would much
rather my children learn and lose
With a good moral Christian coach
than to win every game with an
immoral one.
The boys and girls in any athletics
program learn much more from their
coaches than just how to play a sport.
If they are lucky, as I think my
children presently are, they will
learn how to handle disappointments
in stride and not to be a bad sport
whether they win or lose.
A good coach can even do a lot to
The Ham News sellelta letters to the editer cemcerig leemes ef lecal
economy is "coming back” and that the future
looks extremely bright for Texas in the next
few years.
State Treasurer Ann Richards said that the
sea of red Ink that has threatened to drown
Texas is receding and she predicted that state
government could see a $300-$400 million
budget surplus next year. Texas had a $1.9
billion state deficit at the end of 1987.
Mrs. Richards credited the improved fiscal
situation to the 1987 Legislature’s passage of a
$5.7 billion tax bill. And a "small but significant
gain in the Texas economy." Sales tax collec-
tions, for example, were about 5 percent
higher for the past four months than they were
during the same period in 1986, she said.
It is important, I believe, that every Texan
should think and project a bright future—an
"upturned economy." Positive thoughts and
positive action can make it come true--
perhaps even more quickly than predicted.
COLUMNISTS: Hal Cunningham, Marflyn Hale and Ma Kuykendall.
\ THE
Wanderer
This year, according to news
reports, for the ninth time in 101
years. Punxsutawney Phil saw no
shadow, and there was great joy in
Punxsutawney.
At the risk of bringing down the
wrath of the faithful. The Wanderer
rather suspects that the natives of
Punxsutawney gathered around
Phil's burrow may have frightened
the little rodent more than the sight
of his shadow, but far be it for The
Wanderer to upset the Punxsu-
tawney apple cart. Anyhow, the
people of Punxsutawney have a lot
more faith in the groundhog than
they do in The Wanderer.
How did a little rodent like the
groundhog ever get control of the
weather, anyhow? The Wanderer
has been unable to find out just
where and when the legend of the
Darlene Dishman I would like to take this time to
Llano express my appreciation to the —
Editor’s Note: School board Presi- citizens and merchants of your city
dent George Wentsch was not at the for the warm welcome they give the
December meeting as he was ill. “out-of-towners” that deer hunt in
overcome a lot of poor sportsman-
ship that is taught at home.
Thank you, Coach Spivy, Coach
Lierman, Coach Stovall, Coach
Adams, Coach McCormick, Coach
Dehnel, Coach Daugherty and Coach
Dale for teaching Llano’s students
qualities that we can all be proud of
in spite of a scoreboard.
Ann Turner
to get out of your gourd, especially if
it were beginning to rot — or did it?
The next bit of information didn’t
help much, as it advised potential
new members that they would be
getting a “Gourd Bulletin.” Not to
be outdone, you would also receive
copies of “The Gourd” for February,
June and October.
It doesn’t get any better, for the
next item is the request for news
items for “The Gourd.” Now what
can a person write about a gourd?
Are you supposed to list weight,
length or circumference? Maybe
color and how long it took to grow?
With a bit of reluctance, I took a
peek at page 2 and learned that a
freshly harvested gourd is 90 percent
water. The design and color is in the
skin and as the gourd dehydrates,
the color fades and begins to turn
brown. The instructions are: "Don’t
throw them away...they often mold
but seldom rot.” Only if your gourd
shrivels should it be thrown away.
After a few months the gourd
should become very light and the
seeds should rattle when shaken.
Soak the gourd in a bath of warm
water, scrape off the outer skin
mold, rub with Brillo pads, dry with
a rag and set aside. After it is very
dry, sand lightly. It should be tan or
light brown and ready for wax.
We read in the papers the
complaint that the presidential can-
didates are not talking about the
national issues in their campaign
speeches. Of course they’re not
talking about the issues. They're too
busy calling each other names and
assassinating each other’s character.
It’s probably a good thing they
moved the primary elections back to
March 8, because if we had to listen
to this mud-slinging for any longer,
more than likely we'd be so sick of
the whole lot that we wouldn't want
to vote for anybody.
The Wanderer would venture a
guess that if Jesus Christ were in the
presidential race, these jokers would
pick his character 4 pieces. We
don’t know just what kind of a
character these guys expect a
presidential candidate to be, but
we’d venture a guess that anybody
with whom they couldn’t find fault
wouldn't have the guts to climb the
White House steps alone.
am, -
0tke_“
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Buckner, Walter L. The Llano News (Llano, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 11, 1988, newspaper, February 11, 1988; Llano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1585746/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Llano County Public Library.